Figure skater Maxim Naumov makes U.S. Olympic team a year after his parents’ death

Figure skater Maxim Naumov achieved her dream by making the U.S. Olympic team on Sunday…but the accomplishment was bittersweet because it came a year later losing your parents in a catastrophic plane crash.

Naumov grew up following in his parents’ footsteps… Vadim Naumov And Evgenia Shishkovacompeted for Russia and became world champion in pairs figure skating in 1994.

Wanting the best for their son, they shared advice and talked to him about what it would take for him to join them in Olympic glory while supporting him last year at the 2025 U.S. Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

But on the way back, Vadim and Evgenia’s flight would have collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River, which killed 67 people…many of whom were linked to American figure skating.

Naumov told US Figure Skating on Sunday: “I immediately thought of them. I wish they could be here to experience it with me, but I feel their presence and they are with me.”

The 24-year-old would have been one of 16 skaters selected for the team.

The competition will take place from February 6 to 19 in Milan.